14 upvotes, 3 direct replies (showing 3)
View submission: Thoughts on trump’s economy?
Since I assume you are engaging in good faith let's talk about policy.
TLDR; Chaos is not an economic policy, but that is what he is doing and it's failing the US economically.
Trump has never stated an actual policy or plan he intended to execute while campaigning. He largely referred to economic tools and levers he would broadly use when elected; it's actually other individuals guiding him what to do specifically. We always knew he has a fondness for tariffs and he used them in Term 1 with ill effect.
Tariffs would never work for how he broadly stated he would use them because he (as many Americans do) has a profound misunderstanding of how they actually work and what they accomplish. The US cannot onshore manufacturing on a whim, that requires an intent by a manufacturer, requires large capital expense, and a lot of time. The higher the technology, the longer it takes (see chip fabrication). The tariffs were an automatic failure and he has compounded that failure by chaotically removing and applying them as if they were a trivial lever. The negative consequences can be seen.
To keep this post on the shorter side I'll limit my scope. He is also creating a crypto reserve, which by its very nature, is too volatile to provide meaningful economic impact and is likely to end up negatively impacting the US. His tax policies will ultimately continue to hurt the middle class and enrich the wealthy. If more money was to make it to the middle class they would increase spending and increase the economy meaningfully but because things have been perpetually tight, spending will continue getting tighter. Firing many F/T Gov employees also has a huge impact - reduces the workforce and it's spending power while simultaneously lowering efficiency, which increases costs. While not an economic policy it is having a major negative impact on the economy.
What we are witnessing is a master class in what *not* to do to the economy if you want it to thrive. I know many people think he knows what he is doing but that has never been the case unfortunately. Assuming what he is doing is *not* malicious, one can say his administration lacks a basic understanding of economics. Chaos is not policy, it's just chaos. Fighting with all of your allies and your trading partners *at the same time* is a horrible idea.
Comment by Efficient_Truck_9696 at 10/03/2025 at 21:19 UTC
9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
If you were a Russian asset however it is exactly what you would be doing
Comment by HorsePockets at 11/03/2025 at 04:08 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That is a fantastic write up. Let's not for the deportations. Google what Larry Fink had to say today. There might not be anyone to manage and pick our crops this year. And we ALL said this. Our economy runs on cheap, illegal labor. And to be honest, I really wish we gave those hard working folks a path to citizenship for their efforts.
Comment by langatang29 at 10/03/2025 at 22:14 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I can’t disagree with any of this. I think that the biggest issue is the chaos being generated. Economic markets can handle a lot of things as long as they know what’s going on. In this case there is little to no plan and that’s showing in the reactions of the markets.